Protect Yourself From Airline Ticket Scams

Protect Yourself from Airline Ticket Scams
by Amy Johnson

The Internet is a place where information can be exchanged freely. Everything from shopping to paying your bills can be done from the comfort of your home computer. Unfortunately, there are tons of scams being committed online every day; and innocent unsuspecting individuals and families are falling victim to these scams. Here you will find information on some of the most common online scams and how to avoid becoming a victim.

Airline Ticket Scams

Airline ticket scams are becoming increasingly popular. Airlines have begun to increase their use of social media to share deals and sales which gives scammers more opportunities to solicit unsuspecting users. Fake airline Twitter and Instagram accounts are popping up all over the Internet with promises of ticket giveaways and deals. Also, many consumers have been reporting receiving emails that appear to be from major airlines. These emails will have subject lines leading you to believe you have won tickets or trips. The messages often contain links for you to click that will lead you to a page to enter personal information to receive your prize. Additionally, these emails can contain Spyware that, once installed, can gain access to personal information on your computer.

Credit Card Fraud

Identity theft that involves unauthorized use of a person’s credit card information is considered credit card fraud. Generally the purpose of using someone else’s credit card information is to make purchases or take money from the account. There are two classifications of credit card scams; account takeover and application fraud. Account takeover generally involves someone taking control over your existing credit card. This is done by obtaining information to change your billing address, often reporting the card lost or stolen to obtain a new card on your account. Application fraud is when someone opens a credit account in your name. This is also done by using your personal information to complete a credit card application.

Other Online Scams

Other online scams include:

• Investment Fraud. Investment fraud scams are often conducted online. The thieves create official looking websites and convince you to invest your money with their company. These companies are often out of the country, and have set up a website just to scam you out of your money.
• Non-Delivery of Merchandise. Scams involving non-delivery of merchandise are also increasing. Thieves will create a website appearing to be selling goods or services. After you make a purchase and they receive your money, you never receive the product you paid for.
• Vehicle Fraud. Vehicle fraud is when someone sells you a car they are not authorized to sell or that doesn’t belong to them; they simply take your money and you never take ownership of the vehicle.
• Extortion. Extortion scams are including everything from tricking senior citizens into sending money to a grandchild in distress to payday loan scams demanding payment information or money transfers.
• Non-Delivery of Payment. Non-delivery of payment scams are on the rise as well. Most of these scams occur when in individual is selling items online. Thieves will send very official looking confirmation emails making you believe your item has sold. Then once you ship the item to their address, you find out it was a scam; leaving you without the item or the money.

How to Protect Yourself

There are many ways to avoid all of the Internet scams that are going around. Airline ticket scams can be avoided by ensuring you are purchasing tickets directly from the airline. If you are going to use a travel agency, ensure the agency is a member of a reputable travel organization. Credit card scams can also be avoided. Be sure you pay bills and make purchases on secure, encrypted sites. Also avoid using public computers when shopping or paying bills as someone using the computer after you may be able to go back and access your personal information. And lastly, avoid suspicious emails and the links they contain as they can often be used to gain access to your computer and access your personal information.

Thieves are becoming more and more clever every year and more people are becoming victims. These scams can cause damage that is hard to correct and cost you thousands of dollars and even damage to your credit. Do everything in your power to protect yourself from these online scams.

More Information:

Amy Johnson is an active blogger who is fond of writing articles on Credit Protection and advising people to immediate steps by informing authorities if your card is lost or stolen. Follow her on Twitter to know more on how to avoid Internet fraud when booking airfare.

Source: http://www.PopularArticles.com/article455491.html